Managing a small business can be a tricky thing. One of the challenges that these enterprises face is minimizing the expenses of the operations. This is so that the business can have savings that it could use later on for expansion or other emergencies. These are some tips that will help your small business to do cost saving:
- Offer “Telecommuting Days” For Employees
With the advances in telecommunications and computer infrastructure, telecommuting is easier than ever for employees. This opens an opportunity for small businesses to cut costs. There will lower electricity and water usage, decreased travel costs and lesser need for a big office for the business.
Telecommuting is also beneficial for employees. This means they no longer have to wake up too early to go to the office every day. They will also spend less time commuting and traveling, which they can devote instead to other personal pursuits.
However, telecommuting is not yet too known by many. It has a large cost-cutting and productivity-improving potential that only a few companies have realized. The fact that telecommuting employees in the United States rose from 103 percent from 2005 to 2014 means that telecommuting is the future.
- Consider Buying Used Equipment
No one expects the business to buy everything brand new. If you could not afford it, consider buying those that have already been used. This is usually what most small companies do for storage equipment, vehicles, office furniture and even personal technology. Just make sure that you are eagle-eyed about any possible defect before you buy the item.
- Go Green
Being environmentally-friendly is not just your civic responsibility. It also gives you the chance to cut back on some costs. This is especially true for electricity matters. Electronic gadgets and other electrical devices that have been certified to be energy-efficient can save you as much as three-quarters of your power costs.
Other ways your company can go green is to limit the use of paper and using environmentally-friendly materials and supplies in the office.
- Adopt A Debit Card Payroll System
While there are still instances when checks are still needed, a debit card payment system is the best option right now for salaries. Not only is it efficient, it also lessens the burden on the administrative team. It also lessens the need to print checks as everything can be done electronically. Plus, this payroll system also has a decreased risk of fraud.
- Check Your Healthcare Offerings
If you want your small business to have savings, you need to make sensible changes to the healthcare arrangement. Healthcare is important, of course, as employees would want their company to take care of that. This is why canceling coverage should never be an option. One thing the business can do is to get tax-advantaged health savings account for their employees. This gets the control of the healthcare options on the employee’s court.
- Delegate Some Tasks To Micro-Contractors
Micro-contracting is perfect for employers who have small tasks that need to be done but do not want to hire a full-time employee for it. You can just hire a freelancer who will go on a micro-contracting arrangement with you. Once hired, you can delegate the tasks easily to them online.
- Come Up With An Energy Saving Plan
The monthly electric costs may seem small but for a new enterprise, it can already represent a large chunk of the spending of the business. This is why the company should implement an energy saving plan that will cut down electricity costs without adversely affecting the operations and productivity.
There are many ways that this can be done. You can start with the heating and air conditioning facilities in your office. Since you need to make sure customers, clients and employees are comfortable in the office, you cannot completely let go of your HVAC unit. One solution is to use a programmable or smart thermostat for the indoor climate control needs of the space.
You also need to think about how to maximize the insulation in the office. For example, double-pane windows and light-blocking curtains and blinds are effective in limiting the heat that enters the building through the window.
Also, do not forget to unplug appliances, equipment, and machinery if they are not used.
- Adopt Flexible Packaging
If your business is in some kind of manufacturing business especially food manufacturing, adopting flexible packaging can be a great way to save big from product packaging. Due to its lightweight and low cost of packaging materials, flexible packaging is much more affordable than other packaging options available to companies. Additionally, stand up pouch printing allows companies to do their branding and advertising much more effectively. Short run flexible packaging is good for storage and transportation as well, making cost of both these activities low as well. If you do not want to invest big money installing all the machinery and equipment of adopting flexible packaging, outsourcing the company packaging to a professional flexible packaging provider can be a good idea.
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